5 Answers
5

Cards can become marked unintentionally. Further, failure to follow standard clean dealing procedures makes mistakes more likely, and even in friendly games, a mistake that costs someone a big pot can cause hard feelings.

It if there is a mark on the back of the card rather intentional or not it protects that mark from being known and exploited.

The top card on the deck is more prone to being shown inadvertently then the one right below it.

Its is much more common to accidentally expose the top card then the card second from the top.

It is also much easier to intentionally show the card on top of the deck then it is to show the second one down.

The act of burning the card is also a good last indication that the dealer believes the action is complete, giving players a chance to speak up if indeed the dealer is mistaken, before any damage is done. (An aside it is good practice to tap the table right before you burn and place the flop card(s).

However burning the top card is basically a security measure, and for a low stakes home game it is really up to you to decide how important it is, this answer and the others give you excellent context to make a decision about that.

Depends on the home game. Some home games are very serious and involve significant stakes. Other home games are entirely casual/social occasions and involve low stakes. So, you'll probably need to burn cards in the "serious" games; in the casual/social games, I wouldn't worry about it very much.

That being said.... I prefer the burn card, but in the low-stakes home game, it's not a deal breaker.